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Posted January 11, 2022 in Banking Updates

UPGRADED MOBILE BANKING UNIT

Badlands Express mobile banking unit

For most people in much of the country ‘mobile banking’ involves an app and a smartphone.  Security First Bank offers that service, too, but for a few thousand people in rural South Dakota, mobile banking means the Badlands Express.

Providing on-site banking services in very rural markets presents a challenge for commercial banks, and brick-and-mortar branches aren’t always the best solutions. Employing a creative approach to that issue, Security First Bank introduced the Badlands Express mobile bank in 1998 to serve customers in sprawling Oglala Lakota County in southwest South Dakota.  Each week for nearly 20 years, the Badlands Express has provided banking services for thousands of customers in the villages of Pine Ridge, Kyle, Wanblee and Manderson.

The original Badlands Express mobile bank was housed in a 28-footlong Ford F-350 with a mobile home style shell.  Inside, bank staff conducted banking services from two fully-equipped offices.  The bank replaced the road-worn unit in 2006 with a similar vehicle, and with almost 200,000 miles under its wheels, that unit was replaced with a brand-new Badlands Express this June.

Angie Witt has been the mobile bank’s driver and manager for 13 years, and is delighted with the new vehicle.  “We carefully considered the design of this mobile bank, and I’m happy to say the changes we made have improved our customers’ experience and our employees are better able to do their work as well.”

Among the design improvements are a deposit slot for customers who want to make a quick deposit, a full-length awning to provide shade and shelter from the elements, and a mechanized transaction drawer with a writing surface. 

“I enjoy seeing my customers each week, and they appreciate being able to conduct their banking business in their home community.”  It’s pretty neat to have a bank that offers two mobile banking options-one on your phone and one that rolls down the highway!”